Can we use the Akai SynthStation hardware with the Ipad?

On the box, it says that it's compatible with all iPod Touch and iPhone devices (including the iPhone 4). However, the iPad won't fit physically into the recess.

I suspect the connector pinout on the iPad is compatible so if anyone knows of a breakout or extender cable for the iPhone connector then let me know.

Great! How is The physical feel in The keys of this hardware? Does it feel plastic or is it sturdy?

I reckon they've got it just about right. When you first get it out of the box it feels relatively light (ideal for travelling) but in use it's got some really grippy rubber feet and controller surfaces which makes it feel nice and solid. So best of both worlds I reckon.

I'd say that the keys have got slightly heavier springs than average, but this might be my imagination because the keyboard's not full size. I'm glad that it's not a full size keyboard personlly since this strikes a good balance between portability and key range.

Mine got damaged in transit (I got it through someone I knew who probably didn't package it properly) and because I didn't want to lose time by sending it back I took it apart and fixed it myself by replacing the mod wheel pot. Inside it's got metal brackets in all the right places and it turns out that the accident had sheared the metal shaft of the pot. It must have taken a very sizeable whack to do this because there was nothing inside that looked flimsy to me. I'd be very surprised if this happened to anyone else.

Great, thanks for the info! Might consider getting one myself when the update comes. How's the latency compared to the mobilizer?

Wonderful.
Blipinteractive = the best!

A few more questions popped into my head.

Will you make it possible to play all four midi channels at once with the synthstation? It would be wonderful to be able to layer all four synths and play them at the same time. I would find this VERY useful live. Would make nanostudio compete even with most live synths available today. Is this possible to implement at all?

Does the iPhone take power from the synthstation so you don't have to worry about the battery level?

Will phone with a case on it fit or naked only? Thanks!

Yes you can layer up all 4 synths on the same channel if you want. The latency seems fine but I haven't really been hammering it yet.

I'm pretty sure that the phone will not charge from the SynthStation when the latter's running on batteries. However the SynthStation also has a DC adapter input, and the specs rate this at 1A. That's a lot for just a battery operated device so it could well be that it powers/charges the phone when running off the mains.

An adaptor doesn't come with it though so I'll have to see if I can dig out one that's compatible.

Not sure if the phone will fit with a case on it. If the case is very slim then possibly, but you might run the danger of putting stress on the connector if it's misaligned.

Great news about the layering! Waiting eagerly. You're the best!

Cool news!

While this hasn't been officially tested by apple an extender cable should work for use with the iPad, the unit will charge your iPod if the PSU is attached.

I just checked dock externder cables out on eBay. Quite a lot of the ones around the £4 mark only mention that theu work with iPod and iPhone. The ones that mention iPad are mostly around the £8-10 mark. Is there really a difference between them or are they having a laugh?

Hi - great news. Can you confirm the iPhone 4 will definitely fit? I've heard mixed things from Akai & retailers on this...

thanks!

Great! Thumbs up for Blip :))

This will be awsome! I will get the synth in the end of november. I hope you're done with the update by then.
I thank you for your awsomeness!

XX

I've got the hardware and am finding the latency, for the akai app which you'd imagine would be optimised, just awful.

Pads is about the only thing I can get away with and any attempt at playing bass lines is futile. I also find it not particularly responsive in as much as sometimes it just drops notes.

Has anyone else found this to be the case. Hopefully your experience of it with nanostudio is better blip?

Looked forward to the hardware for so long and it's just a major let down!

I was using it a little more seriously last night and can't say I noticed anything that bad. I should try it with the Akai app to see if I get similar results. I'll try out out tonight - especially if my girlfriend insists on watching Eastenders again :)

Have you tried rebooting your phone to make sure that there's nothing going on with something running in the background?

One thing I did find is that I did get the odd 'key bounce' sometimes (ie. a double triggered note). By altering my playing style to press the keys a little harder it went away. I want to cross check this against the Akai app too.

Overall though, I've been having fun with it.

Hi again,

Not sure if I'm being a little lazy here, but is there some update I need to download to get the Synthstation to work with NS. It's playing notation when the Akai software is loaded, but I can't seem to get anything out of NS. If I play the notes direct from the iTouch I do here sound from the headphone out on the Synthstation though.

Cheers in advance
Rich
PS, luckily my wife gave up Eastenders quite a while ago :)

You have to wait for the next upadate of NS before you can use it with synthstation. Should be out in the next few weeks.

Doh... I just read through the forum again and notice that everyone is talking about Akai app (latency etc).

Cool, cheers for the info and I look forward to the update

I have to say, NS is a great bit of kit. It's amazing to think that something like this blows aways all the kit I owned in the past (early 90s), but doesn't cost 2 to 5K lol.

Keep up the good work

Wicked wicked news! How do the outputs work for this? The Synth Station has a main left and right output - does the iPhone's headphone output get muted when it's connected? If not, is there any way of routing the signal from a single NanoStudio instrument out through that, while the rest of the output goes through the Synth Station? Just curious as I have a Kaoss pad, would be wicked to send drums and bass out through the main outs and then a synth through the headphone out to the KP...

Regarding the dock-connector extender cables...

The iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch all use the exact same 30-pin dock connector, however...

This connector is used for all kinds of "signals", being USB, FireWire, plain audio, video, charging and more. There are even some differences in which device still supports what. For example, you won't be able to charge newer iPods using accessories that use the FireWire pins for charging, because FireWire is not used on newer iPods anymore.

Now cablewise... the best cable would ideally extend all the 30 pins from the male to the female connector on it. It seems very unlikely to me however that some cheap Chinese cables from unknown manufacturers use a freakin' expensive 30-wire cable to connect the male to the female part of the extender. It's most likely that these cheap cables, for example for audio-docks, will only have about 8 wires for power, audio and maybe USB.

I have no idea exactly what pins are used by the Akai station, but chances are that some pins are in use that are not extended in cheap cables and maybe even not in the more expensive ones since these cables are obviously not meant for use with the synthstation specifically.

Therefore... a cable that works with the iPhone on the synthstation will absolutely also work with the iPad, but chances are that some (or maybe all) cables also don't work with the iPhone hence will also not work with the iPad.

Basically... I would not just blindly order a cable just for this but try to find someone who already has one and just try it. :-)

Is this now compatible? I want to purchase a synthstation but I'll wait until it's synthstation compatible.

It's finished, will be submitting to the store early next week. With current approval times it should be available in the store approx. 2 weeks after that.

Yeah! What are the other features in the update?

VU monitor during mic sampling, and a metronome click. I think I should be able to get 'monitor song whilst recording' working too.

Improved sample interpolation - I've spent over a week on trying to optimise everything to achieve this at no extra CPU cost and I've sped up a fair amount of stuff but couldn't get there. Testing with all 16 pads playing, all effects on, all Edens playing 8 notes with 2 oscillators I get these CPU figures:

iPod 2G NanoStudio V1.0 : 66%
iPod 2G NanoStudio V1.12 (further optimisations) : 60%
iPod 2G NanoStudio V1.12 with optimisations using improved interpolation method : 78%

Just for comparison, in the last case (V1.12 with improved interpolation) I get 50% on the 3GS and 25% on the iPad. There's not much left that I can make any faster now - I'm going to offer low/mid/high settings to cater for the range of hardware out there. It will always use high when resampling or making a mixdown.

Annoyingly, it's difficult to get more than 50% out of the 3GS at the moment. The OS slows the processor to half speed when it thinks it's not busy (to reduce battery drain) but fails to look at what the audio's up to when making this judgement. Instead, it looks at the display drawing (which in NanoStudio's case is fairly fast), thinks the processor's not needed and reduces to half speed :(

I just bought the SynthStation 25 on your recommend (and a few youtube videos) and expect it delivered in a week. I'm not a serious musician, but just like to dabble with programs like Garage Band, Logic Pro, and Live. as well as getting a used M-Audio Oxygen V2 keyboard. I bought some of the better known apps for my iPod Touch, but none of them come close to NS! Thanks so much for all your work and also running a great forum. With some apps, the forums are so lacking any direct input from the author, but not here! Again, thanks!

hi matt,
i look forward to the update. let us all know once you submit it, i look forward to compulsively checking the app store : )
i've got my same old question: will the update run well on my iphone 3g os 3.1.3? it runs great now. i know you said it works on your ipod 2g but i think those are slightly more powerful than the phone.
thanks

On 'low' audio quality it will sound the same as the current version but actually run a little faster. It will still be compatible with 3.1.2 or above.

I'm still a little curious about the latency when using the synthstation. Do you have any specific values in milliseconds? Is it about 10ms or less? Are the latency higher when you are playing with all four midi channels simultaneously?

VU graphic levels while sampling from the mic??! Monitor incoming audio!?!? Matt, you've made my nanostudio dreams come true!! :) I'm also really excited about the new audio modes as well. Giving people the option to select quality is great. Sometimes I like the gritty sound and sometimes I wish I could pitch without the current artifacting, so this will be a blessing.

Only one more thing left on my wishlist...... An Extra TRG module ;)

Interesting about not being able to use more than 50% CPU on a 3GS (presumably same on a 3rd gen iPod?) if there isn't much going on graphically. That's quite an issue really, for Apple to look into...

@formal - Just to let you know, the low/medium/high setting will apply to 'real time' use. Mixdown and resample will always occur at high quality.

In future I'll probably offer the option to force the quality for samples (eg. if you deliberatley want them sounding gritty) but I don't want to re-layout the UI and/or change the project file format for this version.

For those interested, here's a draft of the manual text on how the SynthStation will operate with NanoStudio:

Operation of the SynthStation 25 is fairly similar to using any MIDI controller with NanoStudio.

Before you can use the Mod controller you must teach NanoStudio the controller's mapping (see Teaching MIDI Mappings).

To change the current preset, tap the Program Prev/Next buttons. Hold the button to change presets rapidly.

To change the current octave, tap the Octave Up/Down buttons. When the centre octave (Middle C) is selected, both button indicators will be off.

To change the instrument, tap the Drums/Synth1/2/3 buttons. Since NanoStudio has more instruments than the SynthStation has buttons, some buttons have a second function. To select the second function tap the button a second time. The button's indicator will flash when the second function is enabled.

When you tap the Drums/Synth1/2/3 buttons, you are selecting the MIDI channel that you wish the SynthStation to transmit on. This is independent to NanoStudio's currently visible instrument (the SynthStation always operates with OMNI Mode OFF, see above), allowing you to view and edit instruments independently of the instrument you are currently playing via the SynthStation.
If you wish to view the instrument the SynthStation is currently playing, hold the Drums/Synth/1/2/3 button.

The SynthStation's instrument button assigments are shown below:

SynthStation Button NanoStudio Instrument
Drums (on) -> TRG-16 (track 5)
Drums (flashing) -> TRG-16 (track 6)
Synth1 (on) -> Eden 1 (track 1)
Synth2 (on) -> Eden 2 (track 2)
Synth3 (on) -> Eden 3 (track 3)
Synth3 (flashing) -> Eden 4 (track 4)

To summarise:

- Tap an instrument button to select the instrument you wish to play via the keyboard.
- Tap again to select the second function. The button's indicator will flash when the second function is enabled. Not all instrument buttons have a second function (see table above).
- Hold an instrument button to make that instrument visible in NanoStudio.

@ Blip - It's okay, I can record the gritty versions into the PC or my hardware DAW. And use the WAV render when I want a high quality one. Keep up the great work.

Blip - thank you so much for such an awesome product. And, thank you for moving swiftly to accommodate the Synthstation!

I do most of my composing with Cubase/VSTis and Reason. Synthstation is becoming my "Reason away from Reason", and a alternative live set backing system.

I look forward to the update!

Ed

So you have the IPK25/Synthstation unit? How do you find its build quality, responsiveness, action/playability? On YouTube, there is a video of a demo unit with a stuck key (the rightmost key) that never pops back up more than halfway-- scared me off the product.

I'm lazy so I'll cut and paste from above. I don't know about the YouTube video - but people mainly tend to make a noise publicly when they're unhappy, so probably for each person with an issue there are 100 happy people!

I reckon they've got it just about right. When you first get it out of the box it feels relatively light (ideal for travelling) but in use it's got some really grippy rubber feet and controller surfaces which makes it feel nice and solid. So best of both worlds I reckon.

I'd say that the keys have got slightly heavier springs than average, but this might be my imagination because the keyboard's not full size. I'm glad that it's not a full size keyboard personlly since this strikes a good balance between portability and key range.

Mine got damaged in transit (I got it through someone I knew who probably didn't package it properly) and because I didn't want to lose time by sending it back I took it apart and fixed it myself by replacing the mod wheel pot. Inside it's got metal brackets in all the right places and it turns out that the accident had sheared the metal shaft of the pot. It must have taken a very sizeable whack to do this because there was nothing inside that looked flimsy to me. I'd be very surprised if this happened to anyone else.

Thanks! Yes, I read that one actually ( i was actually asking "egelmett" who posted just above :))

Anyhow, I don't mean to belabour this, but-- anyone-- what's the dynamic range? Does it really report the velocity of the keystrokes consistently across the keyboard, and predictably.. can you reliably get the bottom range of velocities? When you bring it into NanoSync and look at the velocity graph is it fairly reminiscent of what you played? How easy is it to get a consistent dynamic range out of it? I don't expect it to act like an oxygen 25, but I would get it largely for the dynamics.. I actually don't mind using nano synth's lovely keyboard UI otherwise-- in fact I really like the 32 key onboard UI keyboard (when set to narrow key width).

Thanks a bunch!

And... What about the polyphony-- how many simultaneous keypresses can NanoSynth record from the Akai? (sorry!)

I have noticed the "key bounce" problem with the akai native synthstation app as well.... Especially on the drum kits....

I find that the main culprits are the sharp/flat keys, especially c sharp/d flat, d sharp/e flat.

It was actually so bad that I returned my first synthstation for a replacement!! It was also double triggering for me when I would hold down one of the white keys (usually c or d) and pull towards me and release.

My current model (just picked up a few hrs ago) doesn't seem to have the white key problem with the hold/release, but it's still double triggering on the flats if I hit them mid level.

Can you confirm the same results if you have time Mr. Blip? Otherwise I absolutely cannot WAIT for the synthstation iphone update!!!

Thanks again for an awesome product!!

No, I don't have the Synthstation yet. I have Nanostudio.

I do have an LPK25 and it's okay for what it is. No stuck or broken keys yet. It works fine with Reason and my Mac.

Of course, Akai is also coming out with an MPK Mini which incorporated the LPK25 and the LPD8 into one unit. This is something I want as well.

No, sorry you misread my statement above. When I first read about the Synthstation I thought it looked like a great idea if it were not for the Synthstation app itself. One feature that drew me to Nanostation was the realtime recording. Akai's app does not do this.

I intend to get the Akai synthstation keyboard and use it with Nanostation. I would like to make it the backing tracks for my band's coffee-shop act.

This is so awesome, can't wait for this release.

I just found out about the synthstation today, and will be buying one next week.

I was hoping to see nanostudio support and now it's almost here - this will be an awesome combo!

Sorry egelmett my original comment was directed at blip interactive's last post where he said he noticed double triggers at times and was going to check the synthstation app for the same thing.... I was just asking him what keys the main culprits were...

Sorry for the confustion!!

matt

Just got the synth.
I suspect the waiting for the update will feel like forever!

Exactly - any news on where it is in the approval queue? (it HAS been submitted, right?).

The AKAI app is not that interesting, but with Nanostudio it will be awesome.

I can fit my iPhone 4 - but it's not a perfect fit, and sometimes I get the "This product is not compatible with this iPhone" pop-up - not sure when it's happening as it's not consistent.

The "groove" in the mount is rounded for the iPhone 3(GS), but since the iPhone 4 is smaller it will fit, however it seem to lift it a bit on the other end (opposite the dock) - so not perfect.

However the mount is just a plastic shell you can take out, so it should be possible for AKAI to release an "updated adapter".

Developers don't get an approval queue position I'm afraid. Instead, it's like camping for 2 weeks at the end of a 3 mile hosepipe and hoping to catch the first water that comes out. I can see why Apple might not want to give out the queue position - I suspect they rearrange apps in the queue for various valid reasons and it might cause more problems than it solved if devs saw their app seemingly jumping all over the place.

V1.12 was submitted about 5 days ago, so I'd say that assuming it's approved it should hopefully be available around the 25th or so.

I see, but thanks for the update, and confirming the submission date.

Just picked up my Synthstation today, so the wait has started :-)